Arlington
1 high school and 7 elementary schools in our rankings · serves Arlington
Ranks #22 of 328 Massachusetts school districts — top 7%.
MCAS is the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in 2026, grades 3–10 combined. Spending is total per-pupil expenditure in FY2024.
Arlington is a suburban town located about 8 miles northwest of Boston, in Middlesex County. Its single-family assessed values place it among the higher-valued communities in the Commonwealth, and its per capita income is above the state median. Arlington's history includes a role in the Revolutionary War, as the town was part of the route Paul Revere traveled on the night of April 18, 1775, and the Battle of Lexington and Concord began just to its west. The town is served by a single public school district anchored by Arlington High School.
How it compares
- Strongest area: SAT scores, in the top 8% of districts. Its high schools average 1266 on the SAT, vs 1113 for the average MA district.
- Relative weak spot: Graduation rate ranks in the top 38% of districts, below its other categories.
- Top school: Peirce, #45 of 895 Massachusetts elementary schools.
- Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 13.5% in 2022 to 8.8% in 2025.
A district's overall rank is the average statewide percentile of its ranked schools, with a 10% discount for single-school districts. Category standings compare the average of each district's ranked schools and count only districts with data. How we rank
Schools in Arlington
We rank high schools that report SAT results and elementary schools with grade 3 MCAS results, so some of the district's schools (middle schools, for example) aren't listed. Elementary ELA and Math are 2024–2026 averages of grade 3 results.
MCAS results
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, compared with the state. Statewide 10th-grade results dropped after 2024, when passing the MCAS stopped being a graduation requirement. There was no test in 2020.
High school results
Averages of the district's ranked high schools (Arlington High). "MA avg" is the average of all Massachusetts districts with high school data.
Students & classrooms
48.8% female · 50.7% male · 0.5% nonbinary
Spending & teachers
Spending is total per-pupil expenditure from all sources. Dollar figures aren't adjusted for inflation. "MA median" is the middle district in each year; small districts can spend far more per student, so the median is a fairer yardstick than the average. Salary is the average across 490 full-time-equivalent teachers.
Attendance
8.4 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 1.7% missed 20% or more of school days
About Arlington
What could you afford here? · All towns A–Z
Town figures are FY2026 averages for single-family homes from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Assessed values usually run below recent sale prices. "MA median" is the median of the state's 351 towns.
Compare Arlington with nearby districts
Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district